Process of treating roads, &amp;c.



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UNITED STATES PATENT JACOB S. ROBESON, OF AU SAIBLE FORKS, NEW YORK. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

PROCESS or TREATING ROADS, ac.

Patented Jii ly 2%, 1 i i no Drawing. Application filed November 20, 1908, Serial No. 463,710. Renewed September 3, 1912. Serial No. 718,397.

r 0 a?! whom 2'15 may concern Be it known that I, JACOB S. Roenson, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Au Sable Forks, Essex county, New York, have invented an Improved Process of Treating Roads, &c., of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide means for preventing or retarding the formation of dust upon roadways, and a further object of my invention is to effectthe formation of a road or road surface. Many attempts have been made to accomplish this result, but in the main, while they have tended to improve the surface by keeping the same in a more compact and wearresisting condition, they have not prevented the formation of dustafter the initial application of the surfacing material, nor have they maintained the proper coherence between the surface of the road and the body or bed of the same.

In the manufacture of paper pulp under what is known as the sulfite process, which consists in boiling wood and other fibers under pressure in a solution containing sulfurous acid and a base (or bases), such as lime or magnesia, (or lime and magnesia), a vast quantity. of a Watery mixture known as sulfite Waste liquor is produced,

that hitherto has had little value, besides being highly objectionable in a number of ways and very difiicult of disposal. In the patent granted to me October 15, 1906, N 0. 833,634, a process of treating such Waste liquor for, the purpose of recovering the greater portion of the colloidal matter, as well as all of the contained resins, giuns and other extracted constituents of the woody tissues in a valuable form, is fully described and claimed. In a companion application filed November 20, 1908, Serial No. scarce, I have described and claimed the use of this material as the means of sur- T facing or building roads; such material con- 7 mining the organic constituents of the origigizll sulfite liquor in a substantially unchanged state chemically and retaining all of their properties which 1 have found to be valuable for the present purpose. In the digestion of the wood by the bisulfite solution, the lignone component of the wood goes into sqlution to form dissolved bodies which are, or are in the nature of, salts of sulfonic acids with the bases (lime or magnesia) and the characteristic sillfur-cm'itaining colloid constituents of the liquor are, for the sake of a name, often called iiguosulfonates in the art. The original thin liquor as it comes from the dig'ester much less suitable, it is quite sensitive to atmospheric and other influences, readily decomposing. After concentration in the manner described in the acknowledged patent, however, it loses much of this sensitiveness, even on redilution.

The characteristic dissolved organic n1at ters of sulfite Waste liquor may be obtained by suitable methods in combination with sesquioxid bases such as alumina, chromium oxid 'or ferric oxid; and solutions of such combinations, which I may term treated liquors I find useful as a surfacing u1aterial for roads, streets, tracks, etc. As ordinarily made,

dense. A suitable type of this treated liquor may be prepared, by admixing the concen trated liquor of Patent 833,63i with sut- Icient concentrated solution of sulfate of alumina to throw down the lime as sulfate and replace it by alumina in the solution. The lime compounds of the colloid organic bodies of the solution become sponding alumina compounds.

The treated liqubr is preferably diluted with water before use, the amount of dilution before application to the road depend ing very largely upon the character of the road. If, for instance, it be a macadam road with a hard surface, free from dust, it is advisable to make the mixturerelatively thick, say sixty per cent. of the treated liquor and forty per cent. of water. As the amount of dust, that is, finely divided mineral matter, on the road increases, so must the amount of water employed increase, so that upon an ordinary dirt road made of clayey natural soils, the best proportions are twenty-five per cent. of treated liquor the correand seventy-five per cent. of water.

So far as my present experience has shown," the best results are obtained when the equivalent of about three-tenths of a gallon of the dense treated liquor is applied to one square yard of road surface. The proportions used may range from one-tenth to five-tenths of a gallon of the treated liquor to a square yard of road surface.

On track Work, speedways, etc, having a relatively springy body and surface, the

this treated liquor is quite different. In the first application, the mixture should be very thin so asto insure good penetration and the last application should be of a thicker nature so as to make a thicker impregnation in the coating or surface on the top.

. There seems to be some physical or chemical reaction between the material of the roads surface and the treated liquor applied to the same, which must be different with the different road surfaces treated, but just whatit is I am not prepared to state. Liquids which have tanning effects also affeet the physical state of clays, &c.

The treated liquor when applied to the road surface is ordinarily acid, and whether it been a stone road or a dirt road, this acid condition is augmented ,by absorption from the air, the rain, the water with which it was mixed, and the acids present in the soil. There may be a slight deposit of sulfate of lime, but the main effects are due to the tanning principle of the concentrated sulfite liquor employed as the raw material for the trea'ted liquor, whether it be tannic acid or not, which has an effect upon the physical character of the soil, making it more plastic and adhesive and, upon drying, hard and stone-like. This may be just as true of a stone road, which always contains finely divided material of an earthy nature, as it is of a dirt road, but naturally, by reason of the greater density and larger size of particles in the stone roads surface, the

action upon the'latter is slower. The action of the treated liquor in this regard, however, takes place much sooner and progresses more rapidly than is the case with the road surfacing material described in my companion case. The primary noticeable results on a stone road are possibly mainly due to the ad hesive character of the treated liquor, but

the later effects are due to another action.

I am aware of the use of oil as a means of laying the dust upon roads, and while oil is relatively effective for this purpose, it is not in any sense a road maker, as distinguished from a dust preventive, since it simply damps the dust and keeps it from rising by ordinary liquid adhesion, but does not retain it or cause it to adhere to the rest of the dirtor soil and pack into the road surface properly. It is merely. a binder. Nor does it have any chemical or physical eflect on the .fine mineral matter of the road surface, acting mainly by virtue of its liquidity when first applied thou h by subsequent evaporation. it frequently eaves a sticky adhesive residuum which acts as an ordinary adhesive, and which in the case of some oils, may, he asphaltic in its nature.

Though the oil may damp and cause the dusty and heavier particles of the road to adhere more or less to one another, it does not in any way compact or bind them into the road surface or fill the voids of the same, and the wheels of vehicles passing o'versuch damped surface pick up clods of the'cohering dust or heavier particles and move them along the road surface. Oils do not have any specific action upon the physical character of soil particles. a

The treated liquor which I use as a dust preventer and road builder acts in a manner quite different from oil applied for the same purpose. Aside from its specific action (either chemical or physical, or, perhaps, both) in restraining the formation of loose dusty particles, when first applied, itcauses the loose dust particles on the road surface to cohere and remain in the position where they were caught by the liquid applied. Any passing load, as of a wheel or a roller, while these particles are initially damp or at any time when they may have become damp at some later period by reason of dew or rain, forces them into the crevices of the road surface and places them back where they originally belonged or puts them into the voids caused by friction and makes them act again as they did when the road surface was absolutely new, viz., as binders between the stones forming the surface and body of the road, thus completing the arch and insuring its solidity. I

lVhen the applied treated liquor strikes a I holds the finer particles in their proper places, as well as changing their nature in some manner so as to form dense compact masses. When dust is later formed by friction and the road surface becomes damp, it retains this dust and enables it to be packed into the voids that form from time to time. While this result is perhaps more true with reference to a stone road surface, itwill be. readily understood that the same thing, in

a slightly different form, perhaps, is true of a dirt or loose road surface, and my experience has shown that a loose road surface coated, sprinkled or otherwise dressed with the treated li uor finally becomeshard, dense and soli The original thin liquor as it comes from-the digester is much less suitable for forming the compound with the sesquioxid base, as it is quite sensitive to atmospheric and other influences,

readily decomposing. After concentration in the 'manner described in the acknowledged patent, however, the waste sultite liquor loses much of this sensitiveness, even on redilution.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the compound of the organic constituents of concentrated sulfite liquor with a sesquioxid is a highly valuable materia as a roadigoeegoeo isen-of this value and the fact tliatit is or a nature as to extract moisture from the atmosphere it acts as a perfect dust-retarder. Whilenot sufficiently hygroscopic to form mud, it is hygroscopic :10 a sufficient degree to remain somewhat amp.

In view of the fact that the treat-ed liquor is soluble in water, it would be reasonable to expect some loss due to heavy rains in a road treated according to the present process. In practice, however, a road seems to stand considerahle wetting before the material loses its virtue cohering the particles of dirt and dust fuming the top surface of the road. lVith view, however, of obviating any tendency of the treated liquor to wash out underthe influence of heavy rains, I may coat, sprinkle or otherwise dress, the road prepared with the treated liquor with a thin film or surface coating of oil. This is best accomplished by spreading the same upon the road with compressed maker, by re air after the treated liquor has been applied, and the most permanent results can beobtained with the use of a drying oil. Any of the common oils may be employed as an oily surfacing material, however, and petroleui'n is not only suitable but preferable on accountof its relative cheapness. This petroleum may have an asphalt base, either naturally, as in the case of California and some Texas oils, or artificially added, as in the case of mixtures of asphalt with Pennsylvania and like oils to give it drying properties.

There are a number of ways of constructing-a road with the use of the treated liquor. For instance a road the ordinary charac-' ter 21,; to the s b-grade may have upon the top a layer, 'oxiuiately six inches of thickness, of mineral road material mixed with treated liquor in the proportion of about three (3) to eight (8) gallons of treated liquor to the cubic yard. The treated liquor may also be mixed with earth, powdered rock, gravel and other road building materials in this and other proportions. So far as proportions of material go, it is tain that better and more ing results will he a d with the treated liquor in reiat lommeicially,

us for the dilfercnt be determined by experiment as -oads, such as Telford lng mainly of comparaof stone or the like ill proportions of ineral matter, do not dirt roads, and on s -eedwa 's, etc., re-

tn'ely differroads.

law its.

sesquioxid of the character described has a peculiar action upon finely powdered mineral matter of a clayey or earthy nature, such as forms the surface of all ordinary unpaved roadways, changing its character in some manner so that it does not dust which comprises treating the same with a' solution comprising organic matters of concentrated waste sulfite liquor in combination with a sesquioxid.

2'. The method of forming hard and permanent road surfaces on roads formed of or comprising finely divided earthy material which comprises treating the same witha solution comprising organic matters of concentrated Waste sulfite liquid in combination with alumina.

3. A road containing earthy matter and a combination of organic matters of waste sulfite liquor with asesquioxid.

4. A road containing earthy matter and a combination of organic matters of waste sulfite liquor with alumina.

5. The method of forming hard and compact road surfaces on roads formed of'or comprising finely divided earthy material which comprises applying to such a road an aqueous liquid comprising a dissolved salt of alumina with the acid constituents of sulfite waste liquor. v

6. In the production of a hard, com act and permanent roadway the method w ich comprises incorporating with road materials comprising clay or clay-yielding materials a composition comprising thecharactcristic sul ur containing organic matters of a coned sulfite waste liquor, said organic being in a substantially undecom- .nclition and in combination with a id base. he process of making roads which ses treating a road surface containayey matter with a concentrated waste liquor preparation containing a sesuioxid base and thereafter applying oil.

8. The process of making roads which comprises treating a road surface containing clayey matter with a concentrated Waste sult'ite liquor preparation containin a sesquiorziddease and in a diluted condition and thereafter applying oil.

9. The process of making roads which fite liquor preparation containing a sescomprlses treatlng a road surface containquioxid base, and having. an 011 seal for said mg clayey matter With a concentrated Waste altered and united particles.

sulfite liquor preparation containing a ses- In testimony whereof, I have signed my v 5 quioxid base and thereafter applying oil con 1 name to this specification, in the presence of 15 taining an asphaltic base. two subscribing Witnesse 10. As a new article of manufacture, a I JACOB S. ROBESON. roadway containing clayey matter having its Witnesses: i v surface particles impregnated with, altered F. J. PINE,

10 by and united by a concentrated aste sull ROBERT CALDWELL. 

